Project BackgroundMap Caption: The Belgrade "Donut" or ETJ is shown in light blue in the 4.5 miles surrounding Belgrade city limits

The City of Belgrade is changing who handles land use planning and the review of development proposals in the 4.5 mile “donut” around their city limits. This area, called Belgrade’s “extra-territorial jurisdiction” or ETJ, has been under shared City-County authority since 1975.

Starting July 1^st, full responsibility for planning and development review in this area will be transferred to Gallatin County. The City and County are working together on the transition, as announced in a joint press release.

Gallatin County now needs to update the County's Growth Policy to reflect this change. The County will be hosting public engagement events to share more information, answer questions, and hear public feedback on the required Growth Policy update.

Scroll down for additional details and opportunities for public participation!

Upcoming Public Meeting

Community members can learn more about this change and other upcoming planning related initiatives like Growth Area Focused Zoning Reform at the Commission's regularly scheduled public meeting on May 12^th, 2026. The meeting will begin at 9 am in the Gallatin County Courthouse at 311 West Main Street Bozeman in the Community Room on the 3rd Floor, with a virtual participation option via zoom link. The full meeting agenda and materials will be available prior to the meeting on the Commission's public meeting page.

The public is invited and encouraged to register for updates and participate in in upcoming outreach related to this effort. Scroll down for more information on this change and how the public can participate!

Why is this change happening?

A state law passed in 2023, called the Montana Land Use Planning Act (MLUPA), created new requirements for cities like Belgrade. To focus resources on meeting the MLUPA requirements within city limits, Belgrade decided to transfer planning responsibilities within the ETJ to Gallatin County. If you have other questions on the reason for this transition, contact the City of Belgrade.

Why does the Gallatin County Growth Policy need to be Updated?

The current version of the County's Growth Policy excludes Belgrade's ETJ, because it was not part of the County’s jurisdiction when the Growth Policy was written. Gallatin County will therefore need to update the Growth Policy, extending its recommendations to fully cover the area newly under the County's planning jurisdiction.

Additionally, Montana state law requires County Growth policies to be reviewed to determine if updates are needed at minimum of every 5 years. Gallatin County's Growth Policy was adopted in 2021 and updated in 2024 to incorporate the Future Land Use Map (FLUM) and address other targeted updates, so has been updated recently. However, the Growth Policy will be reviewed during this update as well to determine if any additional updates are needed.

What will happen to public feedback shared in recent public outreach?

The public has invested a lot of time, effort, and expertise to inform recent planning efforts in Gallatin County as a whole and within Belgrade's ETJ. That public input will not be lost!

Public feedback gathered as part Gallatin County's 2024 Growth Policy update will be carried forward in this effort. The upcoming Growth Policy amendment will be mainly focused on expanding the County's current Growth Policy recommendations to include areas now under County jurisdiction (formerly in Belgrade’s ETJ) while ensuring information is still up-to-date and language is clear.

While the County will soon be responsible for planning in Belgrade's former ETJ, the City of Belgrade’s new planning documents will continue to show information about future land use outside of Belgrade city limits. It is important to understand that such information will only be applicable if the land is annexed into (becomes part of) the City of Belgrade and is supported by City services. Community input previously gathered by Belgrade within their ETJ will continue to guide their plans as well. For more details on Belgrade's planning efforts, contact the City of Belgrade.

How can the public participate?

The public can stay informed and get involved in the following ways:

• Register to get notified via email about project updates and opportunities to public meetings and project updates.
• Attend a presentation or outreach event. Public engagement events will be scheduled to provide an overview of the required updates to the County's Growth Policy. These events will be posted on this webpage and shared via email.
• Ask a question using the "Ask" button below. Frequent questions will be added to the FAQ on the right
• Submit comments: Written comment may be submitted to envision@gallatin.mt.gov prior to any scheduled hearing and verbal comment may be provided at any public meeting or hearing, either in person or virtually.